A recent incident involving Charles Barkley’s demonstration of how to fall correctly had his fellow commentator and former NBA star, Shaquille O’Neal, in fits of laughter.
During an episode of the popular show, “Inside the NBA” on TNT, the discussion veered towards a recent game where Zion Williamson, a key player for the New Orleans Pelicans, appeared to injure his wrist. This led to Barkley, an NBA Hall of Famer and one of the show’s analysts, to demonstrate how players should fall to avoid getting hurt.
Zion Williamson went back to the Pelicans' locker room after appearing to injure his left wrist on this play:pic.twitter.com/REE4mTETJo
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“You don’t try to catch yourself,” Barkley said.
Barkley suggested that players should keep their hands up and not try to catch themselves when they fall. The idea is that by not absorbing the impact with their hands, they could potentially avoid serious injuries.
The seriousness of Barkley’s demonstration was lost on Shaquille O’Neal, who found the entire act extremely funny. Shaq, another NBA Hall of Famer and a co-host on the show, could not contain his laughter. He even requested the crew to replay the hilarious demonstration in slow motion.
Even after the laughter died down, Barkley had a message for the viewers.
“Guys at home, don’t be stupid. Your body is too much, it’s got too much force.”
He advised against trying to break a fall with the hands, citing the immense force that the body generates during a fall.
Despite the scare, Zion Williamson was able to return to the game and put in a stellar performance. His contribution of 31 points helped the Pelicans secure a crucial victory over the Kings.
The Pelicans’ win kept them a game ahead of the Suns for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. However, the Suns hold the tiebreaker between the two teams, which means if there’s a tie, the Suns would move to the sixth seed, and the Pelicans would be relegated to the play-in tournament.